How Adele's 25 could outsell them all 

Hear Adele's Tobias Jesso Jr. collaboration, 'When We Were Young' in full

arrives in stores and online Nov. 20. The question isn’t whether or not the album will be huge (it will be), but just how huge. Her third offering, following 2008’s

, has been at the top of the charts since it was made available for preorder four weeks ago, and debut single “Hello” is the first in history to sell more than a million U.S. downloads in a week. (It also spawned a slew of viral covers, including one by Demi Lovato that arrived over the weekend.) A parade of high-impact events—including an appearance on

the day after the album drops and a concert at Radio City Music Hall to air Dec. 14 on NBC—are likely to only boost its prosperous fortunes.

One secret to her success? Adele has remarkable cross-generational appeal, with “Hello”logging spins on Top 40 radio as well as on adult-contemporary and adult-alternative stations and even formats usually reserved for R&B and hip-hop. “Fans have been anticipating this moment for years, and the buzz is unprecedented,” says Target spokesman Lee Henderson, whose store will stock a special edition of the album with three bonus tracks. (Last year, an exclusive version of Taylor Swift’s

was offered through the retailer and sold more than 400,000 units in its first week.) “We know

will be one of the biggest albums this holiday season.”

Considering the impressive business “Hello” has done already, along with the timing of the album release (shoppers who purchase the record on Black Friday should bolster first-week sales), industry prognosticators have

moving anywhere from 1.4 to 2 million copies in its first sales frame. If it comes in on the low end, it would still be the single biggest sales week for a female artist since Britney Spears’

in 2000. If it arrives at the high end of that range, it’ll be the second-biggest week of all time behind *NSYNC’s 2000 release

. Those record-holding figures may be from an era that’s a distant memory in the music world, but if anyone can produce turn-of-the-century sales, it’s the powerhouse vocalist from London.

Anthony Mackie channels Billy Ocean on \'The Tonight Show\'

Cate Blanchett flipped lips with Jimmy Fallon on \'The Tonight Show\'

Keith Richards and Justin Bieber remember record label manager who died in Paris attacks

\'Hunger Games\' stars pay tribute to Paris during premiere

Daniel Craig orders alternate James Bond drinks

Where Does \'Carol\' Rank Among Cate Blanchett\'s Best?

What It Looked Like Inside the VH1 Big In 2015 With Entertainment Weekly Party

See All the Red-Carpet Style from VH1 Big In 2015 with Entertainment Weekly